The Financial Times Calls The City Of London Council Undemocratic: This Local Authority Will Remain That Way Until Westminster Passes Legislation To Abolish Its Business Vote

The City operates an idiosyncratic system of “corporate democracy”. At best it is flawed, at worst a recipe for abuse. A connected problem is the scant choice of candidates. For every councillor position, there are just 1.3 candidates on average, radically fewer than in London’s 32 local boroughs. The aldermanic voting system is particularly open to manipulation. An old acquaintance and former Lord Mayor once told me that one explanation for the City’s sometimes reactionary instincts is a “shadow hanging over the whole structure” of the corporation’s supposedly democratic governance, Freemasonry. Close to a third of councillors are declared masons, including the chairs of nearly all the major committees. Three-quarters of Lord Mayors over the past century have been masons.

Residents Need A City Of London Reset On Repairs & For Something To Be Done About The Scandal Of The 66 Empty Council Flats In Black Raven Court

While the issue of the raw sewage leak on the Golden Lane Estate was disgusting enough for a story about it to be splashed across mainstream media outlets, there are many other matters relating to social housing that require addressing. Not only repairs and maintenance but also the 66 brand new social housing flats that remain empty in Black Raven Court, a completed tower block immediately to the north of the Golden Lane Estate. We understand that tenants moving into Black Raven Court has been delayed because material used above the balcony windows, behind the brickwork facade, complies with building regulations, but is not insurable. There is a now a contractual dispute about who pays for the remedial work.

Sue Pearson Retires As Cripplegate Alder & Endorses Liz King To Succeed Her

Sue Pearson will stand down as the alder of Cripplegate ward in the City of London in early July 2024 due to reaching the mandatory retirement age. She is endorsing her friend and colleague, councillor Liz King, to succeed her. In this piece we pay tribute to what Sue has achieved in her seven years on the City council.

Abuse Of Authority By The City Of London’s Chief Planning Officer Over 65 Gresham Street: The Poodles Bark Back

In March 2024, the Chief Planning Officer of the City of London Council, Gwyn Richards, failed to explain how he had authority to determine an application for the redevelopment of 81 Newgate Street himself, instead of referring it to the Planning Committee, after Alder Sue Pearson questioned him. Only a month later, he failed to explain how he had authority to determine an application for the redevelopment of 65 Gresham Street himself, again after Pearson questioned him. This time the spin doctor Bob Roberts, now holding the position of Interim Executive Director Environment, ranted about “abuse” on this blog, and was joined by Alastair Moss, Chair of the Corporate Services Committee. There has indeed been “abuse”: the abuse of authority by Richards pleasing his political masters.

City Elections: Jacqui Webster Wins Cripplegate For Labour, ‘Independent’ Simon Pryke Becomes Senior Councillor For Langbourn

Langbourn winner Simon Pryke is totally networked into the Guildhall establishment. While there appears to be a huge gulf between Pryke’s political views and those of the small team who run this blog, we trust he will live up to his campaign rhetoric and do something about the many issues faced by Leadenhall Market traders. Given that many of their problems stem from having the City of London Corporation as a landlord, we invite him to pleasantly surprise us and to join the dots about how residents on the City’s housing estates have to deal with many of the same issues as those in Leadenhall Market. A good start would be for Pryke to talk to some of his colleagues at the council who represent the residential wards that take in the Middlesex Street, Golden Lane and Barbican estates, about the issues of maintenance and repairs.

By-Election Results From Castle Baynard & Cripplegate Underline The Urgent Need For Democratic Reform In The City Of London

Given that the leader of the City of London council Chris Hayward has been personally involved in a drive to register yet more undemocratic business voters in the Castle Baynard ward, the 11.9% turnout for the 23 March 2023 by-election there leaves the policy chair with yet more egg on his face. Only in a rotten borough like the City of London would a seat in the ward currently most likely to elect opposition councillors to a nominally ‘non-partisan’ council be left vacant for nearly 5 months longer than its equivalent post in Castle Baynard, where a Guildhall establishment ‘man’ was much more likely to be elected if opposition candidates weren’t given time to organise. If the Guildhall establishment can organise an election in a week or two in Castle Baynard, they can do it anywhere, they just prefer not to in a ward like Cripplegate where they’re unlikely to see a candidate they favour returned.

Martha Grekos Resigned Her Castle Baynard Council Seat Due To ‘Brotherhood’ Bullying, All Those Standing To Replace Her Are Freemasons

There aren’t many places in the UK where all four candidates standing for a seat on a local authority council would be freemasons, but given that the City of London is the last rotten borough and is in urgent need of democratic reform, it is not really surprising that this is happening in the ‘square’ mile in 2023. So let’s take a look at the unsavoury line up vying for a handful of business votes to win a seat on the least democratic council in England on 23 March. They are Kevin Everett, Michael Hudson, Edward Goodchild and Scott Longman. Less that 0.4% of the English population are masons and yet more than two thirds of those who’ve held the top City of London council job of Lord Mayor since the founding of the Guildhall Lodge in 1905 have belonged to this tiny United Grand Lodge of England affiliate group.

The City of London Council, Its Funding Of The Church of England In The Square Mile & Fraud

The company Trust For London Trustees, whose directors have included City of London councillors Peter Estlin. Ian Luder, Alison Gowman, Edward Lord, Rehana Ameer and Sophie Fernande, appears to have been at the centre of Martin Sargeant’s multi-million pound Church of England fraud. Given the blown capital budget at the City council and the funnelling of funds by this local authority to anglican projects that may otherwise have suffered cash shortages as a result of Sargeant’s fraud, all these matters and the individuals implicated in them merit thorough investigation.

City Of London Solstice Round Up: Michael Snyder, Chris Hayward, Luis Tilleria & A Cast Of Cronies

Council leader Chris Hayward’s defence of the outrageously poor value for money the Golden Key event represents was absurd but it fits into a long standing pattern of council vanity spending and rhetoric. What really puzzled some of those following City of London council politics recently were Hayward’s antics at the policy & resources committee meeting of 15 December 2022. This meeting saw the awarding of Asset of Community Value (ACV) status to Simpsons Tavern but not St Brides Tavern, offering the former some protection from developers but not the latter.

The Fight To Save The Finsbury Football Pitches, The Degradation of EC1 Leisure Space & Islington Councillor Diarmaid Ward

What frustrates those living in EC1 is that the three Bunhill councillors – with Holloway based deputy council leader Diarmaid Ward orchestrating the party line they tow – simply don’t listen to local opinion. For reason best known to himself, Ward has become obsessed with building new homes as infills and on leisure space. Rather than looking at retro-fitting empty buildings or putting a decent amount of energy into campaigning for the owners of the huge numbers of empty investment flats in EC1 to be compelled to let them to people on the council waiting list at social rent, he wants to use sports and leisure grounds to build ‘brand new’ housing (much of which will be sold to the private sector to fund the Islington’s capital programme).

RECLAIM EC1

No To Business Votes, Yes To Democracy!

Golden Lane Estate